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nerdperson524 · 11 months ago

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Omg it feels like this has been going on FOREVER and now it's over?!. It was only 2020?! I thought at least 2018! I can't express how excited I got every time there was an update. I love those idiots! And you! Thank you for your hard work and creativity!

I Don't Want To Wait, seventy-four

rowaelin high school bff au masterlist

AN: Well, babes, this is it. The final effing chapter of IDWTW. When I started writing this, almost exactly four years ago (chapter 1 posted on may 29, 2020!), I had no idea what it would become. I thought it was going to be vv casual prompt-based high school pining vignettes, simply to rewrite my own version of Dawson’s Creek – if you’ve ever wondered why it was called IDWTW, that’s why! It was a temp title that stuck! – but 375k+ words later… it’s become so much more. And that is because of YOU. Whether you have been here since 2020 or you joined along the way or you're finding this years after the face, I am infinitely grateful. I don’t know that I would have been able to pull through the last few years without your kindness and enthusiasm for these two idiots (and their friends and fam). I have loved telling this story, but mostly, I’m grateful that this journey introduced me to so many incredible humans and created a community of babes I will hold near and dear to my heart for literally ever (it’s true, I loved one of you so much that I drove across the country to meet her, and in a few short months she will be my WIFE!). This story brought so much good into my life, and I am hella proud to finally conclude it. From the incredible creators who made fanart, to the essays of comments on each chapter, to the back and forth of discussing consent, sexuality, and reproductive rights in my inbox, every gif, comment, reblog, message, ask, and interaction of any kind has been a joy. Thank you.

With all of that said, let’s wrap this mother up.

A soft glowing circle lit up the black beneath Aelin’s feet. Her stomach tightened as she rested on one leg and hitched to the side in a slow exhale. Her breath centered her as she pulled her pointed toes up her calf until it extended into a slow and steady develope. Just as she had barely met the apex of her leg’s vertical reach, she exhaled again and twirled to the floor. The music cascaded over her as she continued to move, her muscles moving on autopilot into seamless choreography. She had beaten out several far more senior company members for this solo and had practiced it so many times that it lived within her, sure to remain there for the rest of time. With each of her graceful steps, the spotlight followed her and swathed her in its golden column, as if she were being beamed up into the sky above. With how much lift she got in her leaps, she felt like she was, too. Finally, the bass came in signaling the end of her solo and for the rest of the company to join her on stage, but even as the spot widened until it cast a bright haze across the floor, the floor remained empty.

Confused, she looked into the wings, but all she saw was blackness, not even the barely there violet glow of the stage manager’s lamp. She was grateful for her muscle memory, as her limbs continued their practiced movements as her brain whirled in confusion and panic. She was mid-twirl when the music came to an abrupt stop, and she had to put her entire energy into not tumbling over her own foot. When she finally regained her balance, she looked up and around in confusion. The audience, which she’d thought was packed, was emptied out, only one solitary figure remained. Even barely lit and in silhouette, Aelin would recognize her mother’s haughty posture and signature bouffant. Her slow, delicate clap was a stark contrast to the thrumming pulse of Aelin’s heart pounding against her rib cage.

“Mom?” she breathed, barely a whisper but it still echoed through the empty theater.

“A child bride,” Evalin replied with disgust.

Aelin’s brow shot up. “H-how did you—?”

Evalin cut her off. “You thought you could steal my wedding dress from my closet, and I wouldn’t know about it?”

Aelin looked down in confusion, but sure enough, her recital clothes had transformed into the ivory strapless column sheath she used to admire as a small girl. Rhoe had kept their wedding photo in his bedroom long after Evalin left, only removing the photo when a young Aelin commented with a wistful sigh that she’d never seen Rhoe smile the way he did in the black and white snapshot. The dress was stunning in its simplicity, all clean lines and structured satin.

Her hands pressed against the fabric, as if knowing this wasn’t right, but unsure of the how or why. A soft tinkling laugh drifted across the room, and Aelin’s eyes darted to the noise, hopeful that someone had come to save her from this bizarre encounter and nearly collapsed in relief when Rowan’s shock of icy hair appeared in the doorway.

He looked as handsome as ever in his lacrosse jersey, a wide grin on his face and a giant trophy in his hands. Her smile matched his, realizing that he must have come here straight from his championship. Winning his championship.

“Rowan!” she called out, but he didn’t look up. Instead, he offered his free arm to the source of the tinkling laughter. A beautiful woman accepted his bicep and wrapped both her manicured hands around his forearm possessively. He leaned down and brushed his lips against the top of her head in a gesture so familiar that it physically hurt Aelin to watch. “Rowan?” she called out again, this time much quieter.

Evalin’s cruel bark of laughter was the only response she received. “You offered him everything, and it still wasn’t enough. You’ll never leave this small town. You really are your father’s daughter.”

“No,” Aelin told her mom emphatically. “NO!”

“Yes,” she said simply.

“NO!” Aelin screamed again as unwitting tears streamed down her cheeks, hot under the persisting spotlight. “R-rowan!” she choked out, but he couldn’t hear her, too enraptured by the woman in his arms, eyes — and ears, apparently — only for her. “Rowan!” she sobbed. She went to leap off the stage, but she was caught mid-air, her back hitting something with such a force that it knocked the wind of her.

“Ace?” Rowan’s voice was in her ear, his hand rubbing at her back as she gasped for air. She cracked her eyes open and sagged as she realized that she was safely wrapped in Rowan’s firm embrace. “Whoa, you’re okay.” His voice was a reassuring balm to her heart, which felt bloody and bruised.

“I’m okay,” she forced out, though it came out so shaky that Rowan pulled back to peer into her eyes. She wanted to avert her gaze, hopeful that he wouldn’t be able to see the panic that was still coursing through her body, but the dark green of his irises calmed her, so she stared and focused and thought of things that reminded her of the deep shade of Rowan’s eyes. Emeralds. Yulemas garlands. The long row of lockers in their gym room. Grass and trees in the setting summer sun. The jade plant that Maeve claimed brought her good luck that sat on her kitchen counter. Moss. Green tea leaves. The fake snake he’d placed in her bed every prank week. That knocked her out of her tranquil stupor, and she couldn’t help but frown at him.

“Yeah, you’re okay,” he said, but continued to rub circles into the tense space between her shoulder blades. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Aelin shrugged. “It was weird.” She paused for a long while, trying to think of how to tell him about it. “My dance showcase went off the rails?”

Her admission had its intended effect. He squeezed her tightly and kissed the soft spot of skin behind her ear. “Well, that’s silly, brain,” he said, letting his kisses trail up to the side of her temple. “You already crushed your showcase.”

She grinned in response. It was true. She had crushed the showcase, and Rowan had been there just as she’d dreamed in his jersey and trophy in hand. They’d gone into double overtime, and he’d barely made it to her opening solo. With seconds to spare, he’d slid into a seat in the front row, so she’d be sure to see him cheering her on. But she’d known it the whole time. She could feel his gaze on her as she twirled across the stage. The end of that performance had been, well… not the same as her brain had rewritten it. But, Rowan was right. Her brain was being silly.

“Maybe it’s just acting out because someone kept me up all night,” she said, loving the way that Rowan’s ears still turned pink.

“It’s not my fault,” Rowan said, but his blush said otherwise.

“Sure it’s not,” she said with a lascivious smile.

To celebrate their final week of high school, Aelin and Rowan had planned a movie marathon on Maeve’s rooftop. It included a trifecta of essential graduation movies: Can’t Hardly Wait, Booksmart, and Grease. But what she hadn’t realized was that Rowan wouldn’t be able to help himself from singing along. And he knew what his singing voice did to Aelin’s libido. She couldn’t help herself. Somewhere in the middle of Greased Lightning, the movies were all but forgotten as the pair tangled themselves in each other.

Stretching his limbs to the sky, Rowan looked like a literal god. The early morning sun cast a glow across his stern brow and strong nose, making him look as chiseled as a marble statue.

“If you keep that up, I’m taking you right back to bed,” he said of her lusty gaze and hooded eyes. He poked her side, eliciting a loud squeal.

“Whatever,” she laughed. “It’s not like we have anywhere to be today.”

It was true. Today was the last Monday of the year. AKA, senior skip day. And she’d purposefully not committed to joining anyone’s plans, so she and Rowan could extend their marathon if they wanted to – she also had High School Musical 3, She’s All That, and Dazed & Confused lined up — or just laze around all day. But they had time. Considering where the sun was, it was still very, very early. She imagined Maeve would be in the midst of morning service and briefly considered heading downstairs to grab them some coffee and croissants, but instead she laid back onto the mattress and fluffed a pillow beneath her head. Rowan followed, nuzzling onto her chest. She stroked his hair, not wanting to separate herself from him with the tendrils of her dream still lingering in her consciousness.

“Last week of senior year,” he said. “In three days we’ll be high school graduates. How do you feel?”

“Terrified,” Aelin said, the word blurting out before she could filter it back. Damn that coffee-free brain.

She could feel Rowan tense slightly, but he let her early morning admission slide, and she was grateful for it. “Mm, me too,” he agreed. “The lacrosse boys signed up to do a car wash for community service day, and I’m worried I’m going to see things I can’t unsee,” he said with a shudder.

Aelin couldn’t help but snort. While today was a skip day, tomorrow was a service day. Each senior had to do some sort of community service in order to graduate. Ridiculous. Not like they hadn’t all passed their classes already. She supposed the sentiment was nice, but as someone who’d been volunteering with the hospital for the last two years, it felt a bit shallow. Unauthentic. Forced, if you will. And the athletic teams always used it as an excuse to strip down to their skivvies and wash horny housewives’ cars for an exorbitant amount of money. At least it was better than the Boy Toy auction Lorcan had told them they’d finally outlawed because of the gross raunch factor.

“Just tell them to use a sponge and that their junk isn’t for rubbing against dirty cars,” Aelin advised. Rowan groaned loudly.

“Great, now I can never close my eyes again,” he whined.

“Are the cheerleaders also doing the car wash?” Aelin asked, definitely not thinking about her dream at all. But Rowan was definitely not going to let that comment slide. His head popped up, and she found herself ensconced in his shadow as he peered down at her with an accusatory glare.

“I think a few of them are,” he said. “But… you remember that I’m about to marry you, right?”

“A lot of married people cheat, Rowan,” she said, pushing him off. She hadn’t meant to be so pouty about it, but she couldn’t get the image of his arms wrapped around that dream woman out of her mind.

Rowan looked rightfully hurt, the corners of his mouth turned down and his brow furrowed as he stared her down. “You cannot be serious.” He knocked at her temple. “This has gone beyond your brain being silly. We are so many years beyond this. Do you have amnesia?” He knocked again. “Helloooo, Aelin, are you in there? Have you been possessed by the ghost of your past self?”

“Shut up,” she mumbled, pushing his hand away, but he persisted.

“No,” he said, pulling his pants from last night on. He searched for his shirt briefly, but unable to find it, he simply turned toward Aelin in stoic silence, arms crossed over his bare chest and face looking discontent. “I’m not going to let you say shit like that, Ace. That’s…” He pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. To be fair, she was exasperating. “That’s hurtful. To me. I know you’re scared about the future, but I thought we established that I’m in this with you.”

Aelin scrambled to her feet. “We did.”

“So…?”

He stood there, tapping his fingers against his bicep which was curled protectively around his torso still. Not letting her in. Waiting.

But she couldn’t explain it to him. That lingering nagging feeling of insecurity and worry and failure. So instead, she apologized. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was good enough for now.

. . .

Instead of spending senior ditch day in bed, Aelin and Rowan joined their friends for a never ending picnic day in the park. Which wasn’t exactly what Aelin had wanted, but she had a feeling that she needed to loosen the reins on her panic, lest she piss him off even more. She had a feeling that maybe she’d loosened things too much, though, when she realized midway through her community service day that she hadn’t heard from Rowan in hours. She’d been helping the hospice section of the hospital, which was designated for those who needed round the clock medical care. Their rooms varied from being fully decked out with medical equipment and monitors to the one she was in, which simply had a low bed, a tv, and a chair. Not a monitor in sight. Had she not known the woman needed constant care and surveillance each time she rose from her chair to go to the bathroom, she would have thought she was in someone’s grandmother’s house. As the woman made her tenth trip to the bathroom, Aelin took out her phone. Just to peek. There was no text from Rowan, btu there was one from Dorian. It was a link to a TikTok with the side eye emoji, and she clicked it quickly.

She watched as washboard abs and pecs were drenched with soapy suds as they washed dirt-ridden cars. She bit her lip as Rowan came into view, his muscles rippling as he reached across the hood, his biceps flexing and unflexing with each wipe.

“Mmmmm,” Aelin’s elderly patient hummed appreciatively over her shoulder as she exited the bathroom and spotted the phone screen. She scrambled to put it back in her pocket, but her patient simply chuckled dryly as she snatched the phone into her wiry grasp. “A friend of yours?” she asked curiously, peering up from the screen where the video was replaying.

“Boyfriend,” Aelin admitted, her cheeks burning.

“Lucky girl,” the woman giggled, her hazel eyes alight with joy as she handed the phone back to Aelin where it made its way back into her pocket quickly. “What are you doing spending your time here with an old fuddy-duddy like me?” Aelin was about to protest, but the woman continued. “What’s his name?”

“Rowan,” she finally said as the woman wrapped herself in a thin blanket and tucked herself into her favorite upholstered rocking chair.

“Rowan,” she repeated back. “That’s a good name. A strong name. A reliable name.”

Aelin frowned. “Reliable?”

“Well, isn’t he?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Sturdy,” the woman continued. “In more ways than one. I can tell.”

Aelin gasped, chastising the woman for her forwardness but she simply laughed it off.

“You’re right,” she whispered, as if she were letting her in on a big secret.

“Go, get out of here,” the woman laughed.

“But I still have two more hours?” Aelin said of her unsigned sheet of volunteer paper, but the woman simply shook her head and beckoned for Aelin to come closer.

“I appreciate your service,” she rasped, “But I just want to nap, and it’d be a shame for you to watch me sleep for two hours. You’ll have the rest of your life to work,” she said signing and dating Aelin’s paper for two hours in the future. “You can fuck around for a few hours.”

Aelin gasped again at the profanity, but smiled regardless.

“Thanks,” she said, but the woman had already nodded off in her chair.

. . .

“Droooooool,” Lysandra laughed as she poked Aelin’s side and pulled her out of her skin-induced stupor.

“I—”

“Were staring?” Lys cackled, following Aelin’s eyeline to where Rowan was clad only in his old red lifeguard shorts. The backs of his thighs were exposed, the hem of the shorts riding up as he leaned down to clean the back bumper of a particularly dirty sedan. Unlike his teammates who were filming each other and tossing sponges back and forth, Rowan was focused on the task at hand, making sure that the car he was working on was well-cleaned. “I hate to interrupt your literal wet dream,” she continued, “But, I wanted to invite you to a party.”

Aelin grabbed the paper from Lysandra’s hands and looked down at it.

“You’re having a party?” Aelin asked, surprised by the idea of her sober friend having the graduation rager she’d always wanted to throw.

“It’s gonna have booze,” Lys said, “But… I will not be partaking.” She cleared her throat. “I know that this year is not at all what I imagined, but I finally feel like I’m okay, and I would feel like shit if I didn’t throw the graduation party of the century.” She flicked her brown curls over her shoulder. “Just because I’m sober doesn’t mean I can’t party.”

“Certainly not,” Aelin agreed. She looked at her friend who’d been through the wringer and spit out again and had come out seemingly unscathed and couldn’t help but wonder… “Hey, Lys?” she asked before her friend could move to the next person. Lysandra looked up, eyes curious. “Do your parents know you’re having this party?”

If Lysandra was surprised by the question, she didn’t show it. Instead, she half shook her head and half shrugged. “No.”

“Should I be worried about that?” she asked, but to that, Lys gave a hard head shake.

“No.”

“But you haven’t reconciled with them?” Aelin didn’t know why she was asking these questions, but at the same time, the answers seemed all too important.

“It’s hard to reconcile with someone who doesn’t care,” Lysandra finally said. “But, I will say that I’ve let it go.” She cleared her throat. “The needing them to care.” She smiled then, a small curve but Aelin saw it regardless. “I wanted them to care for so long,” she admitted. “For too long, probably. So I acted out. A lot. Willing them to pay attention, at the very least. But you can’t will someone to care, even your parents,” she laughed softly. “And I’ve been through enough therapy now that I’m starting to realize that as much as that hurts, it’s okay.” She paused. “I don’t need them to care. Because I care enough for all of us. And I realized there are a lot of people out there who care, too.” She paused, looking at Aelin, as if trying to cut through the bullshit and tell Aelin exactly what she wanted to hear, and in that moment… she did. “Does that make sense?”

Aelin nodded. “It does.”

Lysandra tapped the paper in her hands. “Immediately after graduation, and we’ll go all night. Bring your bathing suit,” she said.

“Will do,” Aelin laughed, but she couldn’t help but let her mind wander to Lysandra’s words. Her friend had laid it out plainly for her. What she’d been afraid to admit all along. That she maybe really seriously actually needed to go to therapy. The wounds her mom had imparted on her psyche ran deeper than she knew how to deal with. If her dream was any indication, her mom still controlled some part of her identity, and she needed to release that. Because that had nothing to do with who she was as a human. Not at all.

After the dream, she had thought that maybe she needed to call her mom and let her hear her thoughts, but Lys was right in her assessment: it was impossible to control someone else’s feelings. Even your mom’s. Yes, she wanted her mom to love her and want the best for her, but truly, her mom barely knew her. All Evalin knew was propriety and etiquette and history. She didn’t know that her favorite color was green, like Rowan’s eyes. She didn’t know that her favorite food was Maeve’s chocolate cake. She didn’t know that she was thinking about a career in medicine and how much she loved helping people. And she certainly didn’t know that Aelin wanted at least five kids and to make sure that every single one of them felt loved and adored by both their parents. No. She couldn’t make Evalin care, or pay attention long enough to even try to care. And she had to let that go. It would take a lot of work, but she had to.

With that in mind, she called out Rowan’s name, followed by a whoop and a loud expletive. His answering blush and crooked finger, beckoning her to wrap herself in his half-naked embrace was all she needed to know that she’d been forgiven. But she knew she had to explain anyway. He let his teammates know that he would be back in a minute and let Aelin pull him away from the long line of cars still waiting to be washed.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, tilting her head upwards where he loomed over her. He softly kissed the top of her head, warming her even more than the mid-afternoon sun. “I could say I don’t what came over me yesterday, but… that’d be a lie,” Aelin continued.

He squeezed her side in response, not interrupting her but acknowledging that he was listening and waiting.

“Did you know that the morning of my sixteenth birthday I woke up and resolved that I would kiss you that year?” she asked, and he barked out a confused laugh.

“Um, what?”

“I was so determined to do it, too. And do you know why?” she asked as she let her hands trace small circles into the soft skin of his back.

“Because you knew you wanted to be with me forever and ever and that we’re perfect together and meant to be and we’re each other’s soul mates and other halves and one of us just needed to make a move?”

Aelin snorted loudly. “No,” she laughed, screwing up her face. “Not at all.”

Rowan’s forehead wrinkled as his brow transformed into a deep furrow. Clearly her words weren’t at all what he expected to hear. But, she knew she needed to get this out.

“When I thought about why I wanted to kiss you so badly, I realized that it was a test. If I kissed you and blew up our entire friendship, then I’d be right about everything I thought about myself. That you could never love me as much as I loved you. And so obviously you’d leave. Because everyone leaves.”

Rowan’s grasp tightened around her waist, locking her against his chest. “But I’m still here.”

“You are.” She paused, finally letting the words come to the surface. “I think…” She shook her head. That wasn’t the right start at all. “I know… that my mom deeply screwed me up.” She took another deep breath. “And watching you get recruited and this whole college limbo thing has made it so much worse. Because every day it feels like I’m just waiting for you to get up and realize that you’ve outgrown me. But you haven’t done anything to make me feel like that at all. And so, I’m really sorry. My issues are my own, and I’m going to work on them.”

“Thank you,” he said. “For the apology, and for letting me know what’s going on in there.” His fingers tucked under the hem of her shirt and matched the circles she was placing on his back. “I’ll try and remember all of that when you inevitably freak out again, but I look forward to proving you wrong every day for the rest of our lives. Because I’ve said it a few hundred times before, but I’ll keep saying it until you believe it: you’re stuck with me. Forever.”

“Forever,” she echoed back.

“Whitethorn,” a rough voice called out. “We need you back!”

In his absence, the line of cars had somehow grown impossibly longer. “Looks like you’ve got work to do,” she said, raising her brow.

“Will I see you later?” he asked, and Aelin couldn’t help but scoff.

“Oh, you thought I was leaving?” she laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m going to snag a prime spot for ogling and then maybe we can hop into the jeep when you’re finished.”

“Really?” he laughed. “Even smelling like sweat and sunscreen?”

“Ohhhhh yes,” she said, practically drooling as he let her hands climb up the ridges of his defined abs. “That’s even better.”

He responded with a deep kiss that set her body ablaze, tingling from head to toe, that was interrupted by more panicked calls from his teammates. After prying himself away, Aelin found a spot on a nearby bench, giving her the perfect view to fawn over half-naked and half-wet Rowan for the next few hours.

. . .

The next morning, Aelin was awoken much too early. She was pulled from her easy slumber with a dance remix of Pomp & Circumstance coming from her phone alarm. What the hell? As she slapped at the table next to her, attempting to turn off the too-loud music in vain, she felt her dad’s hand cover hers and lead it to the offending object.

“Congrats, graduate,” Rhoe’s warm voice lilted as he gently rubbed at her shoulder.

“Dadddd,” she groaned as she attempted to put her pillow over her head. Now that that music was off she could go back to sleep. Or so she thought. She should have known better than to play tug of war with a man who could bench press and carry three times her weight. Rhoe’s soft laughter was a stark contrast to the forceful way he wrenched the pillow away. She managed to keep it within her grasp, but Rhoe’s strength kept it locked at a significant distance from her face. She tried to pull it closer, but Rhoe wasn’t letting that happen. She guessed it was time to wake up, per Rhoe’s request.

Defeated, Aelin let her fingers drop from the pillow, and finally cracked an eye open. Behind her dad’s head was a swath of green and gold, and she focused she could see that nearly ever inch of the room had been filled with balloons.

“Happy last day of high school,” her dad said with a too-wide smile given the early hour. When she opened her other eye, his smile widened even further, showing off two deep dimples that she recognized from her own reflection.

“It’d be happier if I could sleep more,” Aelin grumbled, but it wasn’t with any real mirth. Hung on the outside of her closet door, Rhoe had steamed her deep emerald graduation robe.

“I have one more day left with my high school student, and I plan on making every second count,” Rhoe said, causing Aelin to smile in reply.

“Tyrant,” she laughed. But she was grateful.

After allowing her to get ready, the pair made their way to Maeve’s, where she’d saved a two top for them by the window. Within seconds of sitting, a large hazelnut coffee and platter of stuffed French toast and bacon appeared in front of her. Yes, being in a small town was sometimes annoying – but no matter where she and Rowan went in the world, she knew a plate of Maeve’s home cooking would be waiting for her when she came back.

She and Rhoe enjoyed a lazy brunch, ordering second and third cups of coffee.

“Fourth?” Rowan asked, coming around with the coffee pot.

“If I have any more coffee I’ll be peeing every twenty minutes for the rest of the day,” she laughed, shoving him away. Though he hadn’t been able to join them for their breakfast because he was helping train a new staff member for Maeve, he’d dropped a soft kiss on her cheek every time he’d passed by their table. Which. Was a perfect way to enjoy her day. They’d planned to have a celebratory brunch the four of them, since they’d all be going to Lysandra’s (family inclusive!) graduation party following their graduation ceremony, but having it just be Rhoe and Aelin felt right, too.

“As if you don’t do that already,” Rhoe scoffed. “I’m half expecting you to hop off the graduation stage as soon as they hand you your degree to take a pee break.”

“Dad!” she said, cheeks blooming with redness. Yes, she had brought up peeing first, but she couldn’t believe her dad would talk about her like that in front of Rowan.

“Please,” Rowan laughed. “As if I don’t know about your tiny bladder.”

“You’re both the worst,” she grumbled. “Can we talk about something else besides my pee schedule?”

“Yes, I wanted to ask what you’re wearing under your gown today,” he said before his brain caught up to what he said. “Not in a sexy way!” he said, blush raging as Rhoe raised a pointed brow in his direction. It’d been a while since she saw Rowan look so flustered under Rhoe’s gaze, and she forgot how amusing it was. “So we can coordinate,” he finally said. “For photos.”

“Not in a sexy way,” Rhoe muttered to himself. Something akin to a wheeze came out of Rowan’s mouth as he tried to correct himself again, but Aelin thought it was time to put him out of his misery.

“You can wear whatever you want,” she said. “Because I’ll be wearing a white dress.”

Rowan’s widened eyes darted to Rhoe and then back to her, and she didn’t miss the way his throat bobbed with a nervous gulp.

“A white dress?” he croaked.

“Mhm,” she said. “So anything you wear will go with it.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

“Speaking of,” Rhoe said, clapping his hands loudly and breaking them from their joint reverie. “We should head out so you can start getting ready.”

Aelin rolled her eyes, knowing that her dad was teasing her about how long it took her to get ready, but as she glanced at the time she realized he wasn’t entirely wrong. They had been so caught up in their lengthy breakfast that it was now well after noon.

With a small kiss, she told Rowan she’d see him out on the lacrosse field in a few hours. Unfortunately, Galathynius and Whitethorn were annoyingly far apart in their grade lineup, so she wouldn’t see him for real until after the ceremony. But all he did was send her away with a smile and a kiss.

“Can’t wait,” he said.

. . .

Of course they were graduating on the hottest day of the year. Though the weather forecast had predicted partly sunny skies and balmy breezes, instead they received a cloudless sky, still and relentlessly hot beneath the beatific sun. The thick polyester robe in dark emerald green created a tent of heat around her, and she could feel every inch of her skin beading with sweat beneath it. She hoped when she took off the gown she still looked somewhat presentable, otherwise her hours of preparation would be for naught.

True to her dad’s prediction, Aelin had taken a while to get ready, shaving her legs thoroughly and straightening each strand of her long blonde locks. Of course, beneath her cap and combined with the thick humidity, her hair was beginning to show its natural wavy texture again. And she had a feeling that as soon as her cap was off, she’d be pulling her tresses into a giant pile on top of her head, pictures be damned. Luckily, she’d sprayed her face with a few layers of setting spray so no matter how much she sweat, her winged eyeliner and flawless complexion weren’t budging.

Beside her, Dorian swiped a bead of sweat that had fallen down his temple. Not even his mop of thick curls was enough to prevent the amounts of sweat from cascading down his cheeks and neck.

“If this speaker doesn’t hurry up, we’re going to boil alive,” he whispered as their graduation speaker drolled on. The man was supposed to be inspiring — he was an author turned executive, but his slow talking pace seemed to be getting slower with each word. Not only that, but each word seemed to be the same tone with no inflection, and Aelin was worried all of them were going to fall asleep before their names were called. Maybe she’d be more inclined to listen to his words of wisdom if the hundreds of them weren’t swimming in pools of their own sweat.

Somewhere in her musings, she heard a round of applause, signaling the end of the speech. Thank god.

The next speaker was their class valedictorian, slash Prom Queen. None other than Elide.

“On behalf of the Seniors, I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who has been a part of our success,” she began. “The last four years have been filled with bumps in the road, and it hasn’t been easy. But our success is a direct result of everything you’ve given us. Your care and belief in us and faith when we doubted ourselves have been integral in our quest for knowledge. That includes our teachers, who taught us not only school lessons but lessons in life. Our parents and families, who have been there since the beginning. And the families we’ve created along the way.” She paused, searching for a face in the audience, smiling widely when she found her teal-haired girlfriend smiling back at her. “The bond that links us isn’t one of blood. It’s forged in joy and tears and friendship and respect,” Elide’s eyes found Aelin’s at that moment, and she couldn’t help but smile at her friend. “And no matter where this crazy life takes us beyond today, we will always take this place with us. Because home isn’t just a place. It’s a feeling, it’s a light in the darkness. It’s hope. And so, to the Orynth High senior class, I say, as we forge new paths for ourselves, may we never forget home.” She cleared her throat and smiled widely. “Let’s hold onto the memories and camaraderie and picture-perfect moments, for they made us who we are. Congratulations… we did it!”

The whole class whooped and hollered and clapped wildly, none more so than Manon, who beamed up at her girlfriend from the front row.

And just like that, it was time.

Aelin held her breath as Principal Havillard took the podium and started calling out their names. Her heart raced as her row stood, waiting to take the stage. Her nerves were momentarily squashed as Manon made a lewd gesture with her tongue between her fingers after accepting her diploma. She watched as Lysandra proudly plucked the degree and held it over her head. She knew her friend hadn’t been sure she’d be able to graduate, and it was a relief to hear her name.

Before she could process anything else, she was walking up the stairs and hearing her name being called out. “Aelin Ashryver Galathynius.”

She nearly tripped over her own feet at the chorus of shouting that came from the back of the chairs. She looked over at where Rhoe and Lorcan were shouting wildly and realized that they were accompanied by the entire fire squad. Aelin’s breath caught in her throat at the display of raucous hooting and hollering. These people who had known her since she was a child had come to cheer for her and see her graduate. She had not anticipated that at all. And she found herself completely overwhelmed.

Beside the squad, Maeve cheered, and on the other side of the chairs, down by the W’s, Chaol and Rowan stood and shouted with hands on either side of their mouths. A thrill of love and support rushed through her. She couldn’t believe how many people were here for her.

She grabbed the diploma from Principal Havillard’s hands and raised it into the air, causing the cheering to explode again. She stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes, making a silly face in the direction of her family.

Elide’s words rang in her ears. Her family. The squad, her dad, Lorcan, Maeve, her friends, and of course, Rowan. That vast group was more support than most people got in their lifetime. She’d never forget that.

She made her way back to her seat, laughing as Dorian flipped off his father and then booked it away from him, cackling wildly. Always a troublemaker, that one. And finally, after what seemed like forever, it was Rowan’s turn.

“Rowan Eugene Whitethorn.”

Aelin shot up from her chair, screaming as loud as she could, and despite being many rows back, she could feel Rowan’s eyes lock with hers. His lopsided grin was just for her, and she felt a thrill of joy run up her spine at the look.

“I love you,” she mouthed to him, causing his grin to widen.

“And with that,” Principal Havillard concluded. “I give you the senior class. Congratulations, graduates!”

Aelin stood and joined in the cheering again, her voice starting to go hoarse with the efforts of her support. They did it.

. . .

“Congratulations, Fireheart,” Rhoe said, throwing his arms around Aelin. Despite the heat, she welcomed his embrace.

When he pulled back, she noticed a large bouquet of her favorite flowers in his hand. He held them out to her, the red and orange flowers flickering like a live fire beneath the late afternoon sun.

“Thanks, Dad,” she said, suddenly feeling emotional.

“I’m so proud of you,” he said, and she could tell that despite his dry cheeks, he’d been crying. “And I love you so much.”

She hugged him again, pulling him tight and not letting go for a long while. After they parted, Aelin was passed around for hugs to the entire squad, each one of them telling her a story of something she did when she was a small girl hanging out at the station, imbuing her with joyful memories.

Then it was Maeve’s turn, who didn’t hold back her tears at all. Fat blobs rolled down her face, and she didn’t both to move them away, seeing as they were coming in a steady stream.

“Oh, hon, I’m so proud of you,” she said as she practically squeezed the life out of Aelin. She was grateful she’d unzipped her graduation robe, otherwise she was sure she would have passed out from heat stroke by now.

“And what about me?” Rowan low voice interjected. Maeve burst into a fresh round of sobs as she pulled him close.

She blubbered into his shoulder about how proud she was of him, of both of them, of all their achievements and how grown up they were, and Aelin could feel her heart expanding. It felt like she was going to burst wide open.

By the time everyone had said their piece, the field had mostly emptied out. Aelin heard a soft ripple of groans as a few of the firefighters took out their pagers.

“Fire?” Aelin asked as she peeled the sweaty gown from her shoulders.

Rhoe shook his head. “Worse. Graduation pranks abound, apparently.”

Aelin laughed, understanding that her dad was probably in for a long night of nonsense work.

“So I shouldn’t expect you at Lysandra’s?”

Rhoe shook his head. “You don’t want your old man crashing anyway.” He narrowed his eyes at her, as if he was blinking back more tears and sniffed loudly. “Have fun. You deserve it.”

“I will,” Aelin said, hugging her dad one more time. As he left her with a wave, she looked around for Rowan, who was standing just a few feet away, talking with Maeve. She took a deep breath and lifted her chin.

“Hey, you” he said, offering his arm out to her with a wide smile. She leaned into his side and took a deep breath, letting her happiness flow through her.

A flash went off in their face, and Aelin knew that whatever moment Maeve had just captured that she’d be framing it.

“You ready?” she asked, and his smile widened.

“You headed to Lysandra’s?” Maeve asked, completely unaware of the real conversation happening between the two of them.

Rowan nodded. “Do you want to meet us there?” he asked Maeve, but she shook her head and waved them off. Apparently she had a big night of dinner service ahead of her, but she sent them off with a joint hug and another tearful smile.

And just like that, it was time.

. . .

In the days, months, and years that followed, whenever Aelin was asked about her wedding, she would say that it went by so quickly that she couldn’t remember it, and that was mostly true.

From the time the pair entered city hall to when they exited, a total of maybe ten minutes had passed. There was no aisle to walk down, no verbose exchanging of vows, no romantic readings or passages, but it was perfect nonetheless.

Aelin clasped her bouquet of kingsflames in one hand and Rowan’s hand in another, letting her skirt swish as she swayed back and forth. She had no idea what words the city official said. All she remembered was the brightness in Rowan’s eyes as they stared down at her and the way he kissed her when they’d been pronounced husband and wife.

As they made their way back to his car, Aelin was giddy. They rolled the windows down, letting the cooler air whip through the jeep, a wild giggle bubbling up in her throat and fizzing like champagne with each second that passed. Delicious and lightheaded inducing.

They had done it. They’d actually gotten married.

She looked over at Rowan, who was already staring back at her, a soft dreamy smile on his face. She couldn’t help but grin wider at him, laughing again as his smile pressed against hers. She loved when they kissed like this – a smashing of two smiles that wasn’t quite a kiss at all.

The stress that they’d felt over the last however many weeks, months, years, wasn’t present at all in his posture. She glanced down at his hands poised on the steering wheel, his fingers curling around the black leather in a loose grasp and tapping along to some silent tune in his head. The late afternoon sun filtered through the window casting him in a glow that made him look like a bronzed god, and Aelin sighed happily. This man was all hers. Forever.

FOREVER.

She’d always known their lives would be intertwined, but to actually make it official was something else. The light turned green and the car lurched forward as he pressed on the gas and began driving again. But the adrenaline surging through her was too much. She couldn’t just sit in this passenger seat, she needed to do something.

“Pull over,” she said, eyes flashing at their surroundings.

“Huh?” Rowan’s head whipped toward hers, confused.

“Pull over!” she said again, louder this time. Verging on panic.

Rowan’s relaxed posture immediately reversed, the thick corded muscles of his shoulders and neck tensing as he looked for a spot to pull over.

“There!” she said, her pulse racing wildly.

Up ahead was the empty parking lot of the library. Though it was usually sparse there, there was not a car in sight, and Rowan wasted no time swerving into the lot and putting his hands on Aelin’s shoulders, examining her up and down.

“Are you okay?” he asked, green eyes taking in every detail of her body as if searching for a gaping wound or sudden injury.

“I’m perfect,” she replied. And she was. She was elated. Running on adrenaline and joy.

To calm her suddenly worried boyfriend — no, husband — down, she placed her hands on both his cheeks and kissed his mouth in a soft, sweet kiss.

“Keep the car running,” she said, picking up Rowan’s phone where it was plugged into the car and adding a song to his Spotify queue.

“What are you doing, Ace?” Rowan sighed, exasperated with her antics. Panic was nowhere to be seen anymore in his posture, only annoyance. Which only made her smile wider. As the first notes of the song came onto the stereo, she cranked up the volume and hopped out of the car. She smiled up at the sky, swaying to the beat, basking in the first signs of sunset and pink tinged clouds overhead.

To his credit, Rowan didn’t ask any more questions. He simply followed her lead and exited the jeep.

“Husband,” Aelin said, offering out her hand. “May I have this dance?”

Rowan’s returning smile was so large she thought it might crack his whole face. Gods, he was gorgeous.

He pulled her close, swaying with her as their song played. “I can’t believe our first dance is to Dancing In The Moonlight,” he chuckled.

“We wouldn’t be us if it weren’t,” she said, leaning into his chest as his arms circled her waist and pulled her close.

And though the song was upbeat, they stayed embraced and tangled up in each other, slowly swaying, chest to chest, hearts beating in rapid tandem with the beat of the song. They were so wrapped up in each other that Aelin barely noticed the sun disappearing behind an ominously dark cloud until a large raindrop plopped onto her nose.

And another.

She thought they would run back into the car and seek shelter, but neither of them made a move. In fact, the rain just seemed to invigorate them. Rowan stared up at the sky and laughed, Aelin following right after him. He lifted his hand and spun her in a circle, both of them laughing with reckless abandon as Aelin’s skirt flared out around them. He spun her again and this time ended his flourish with a dip, kissing her deeply.

Time seemed to cease to exist as they danced. Under the raining sky they became a mess of water-drenched spinning, laughing, kissing, and singing.

The skies continued to pour, until they were both soaked through. But as the last notes of the song played, their little magic bubble disappeared.

Aelin looked at Rowan and then back at her white dress, which was now dripping.

“Omg I look like a drowned rat!” she shouted through the rain.

Rowan laughed, pulling her back into the jeep and grabbing a towel from his back seat to dry his own hair off before sliding into the driver’s seat.

“But a very cute rat,” he said, causing them both to burst into laughter once again as they took off toward their graduation party.

By the time they arrived at Lysandra’s, they were still water-logged, giggling messes. Lys gasped at their disheveled appearance, eyeing them up and down with a wary eye.

“Ummm, no,” she said.

“No?” Aelin laughed, feeling drunk on endorphins.

Lysandra’s wary eye morphed into a blinding smile at the pair of them. “Get out of here and go celebrate on your own,” she laughed. “And congratulations,” she whispered.

“For graduating…?” Aelin asked, and Lysandra couldn’t help but snort loudly.

“Babe, you’re wearing a white dress and a shit-eating grin.” She paused. “I’m happy for you.”

She embraced the pair of them. “Now get out of here before anyone sees you.”

Aelin and Rowan didn’t need any more prompting. Apparently they were not subtle enough to pull off seeing other people right now.

“Where to?” Aelin asked Rowan as they slid back into the car.

Rowan smiled back at her. “Anywhere we want.”

“Let’s go,” she said.

And with that, they hit the road. Overwhelmed from the day, Aelin promptly fell asleep in the passenger seat, letting the feel of the car lull her into a dreamless sleep.

. . .

“Aceeee,” Rowan whispered, pulling her from her slumber. It was completely dark outside and the pair were stopped at a gas station slash motel. “You gotta get out of the car and then you can go right back to sleep,” he said softly.

“I’m awake,” she mumbled through a wide yawn. “Where are we?”

Rowan chuckled as she practically poured out of the car into his arms. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she truly was until after they’d checked into the motel, which was surprisingly not seedy, and she was sitting back on the bed. Her dress wasn’t wet anymore, but it certainly wasn’t going to be comfortable to sleep in. She wished they’d thought to prepare better for this sudden excursion. Of course, Rowan had.

“I picked up some essentials at a rest stop,” Rowan said, as if reading her mind. He pulled out an oversized tee that read “Geck Yo Act Together,” with a large picture of a gecko on it and tossed it to her, along with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a little thing of mouthwash. He also pulled out giant sandwiches and chips and bottles of water and a Terrasen mountains tee for himself.

“Smart,” Aelin laughed, realizing the last time she ate was her (albeit giant) brunch, hours ago. “Is that where we are?” she asked, realizing she had no idea where they were.

“No,” he said, grinning softly. “I thought maybe we’d drive south. Explore for a while.”

“Is this our honeymoon?” Aelin laughed, looking around the small, dingy motel room. It wasn’t exactly what she’d imagined, but she also had never imagined getting married at eighteen.

“You told me you wanted to find the continent’s best chocolate piece of cake,” he said, and she couldn’t help but bark out a loud laugh.

“That could take weeks!”

“You got somewhere to be?” he asked, brow raised. And she loved the way his smile promised devious, devious things. And suddenly, she wasn’t so tired anymore.

“I also got one more thing,” he said. She watched as he pulled a thick gold band out of his pocket, and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. He sat on the bed beside her and slid it onto her finger and her heart nearly stopped as he pulled another to slide onto his own. They were practically matching, except while a red stone sat in the middle of her ring, a dark green one that matched the shade of his eyes sat on his.

“Oh,” she said, her throat feeling remarkably dry. She tried to swallow, but it was too rough. A lump in her throat that wouldn’t abate. She tried again as she stared at the ring on her finger, her heart pounding as the red stone flickered in the dim motel room lighting. Why couldn’t she swallow?

“It’s just temporary,” Rowan rushed out, mistaking her silence as dislike. “The rest stop had a pawn shop, and I just knew we needed them, but they’re just for now…”

She cut him off with a swift and forceful kiss. “They’re perfect.”

“Hey, where’s my phone?” she asked. “I need to take a picture of this immediately.”

“I plugged it in,” he said, pointing to where he’d already set up a little charging station.

She picked it up, intending to take a picture of her ring, but an alert from literal hours ago disrupted that. She couldn’t believe it. An email in her inbox that read: Wendlyn University Admissions Update. Oh gods.

Without another word, she clicked into the email, heart pounding. Her eyes skimmed quickly, hoping to get the band-aid ripped off quickly, but she paused on the word CONGRATULATIONS.

“Oh my god. OH MY GOD!” she screamed, throwing the phone at Rowan. He picked up the phone and smiled widely, whooping and wrapping her into a bear hug so tight she couldn’t breathe.

“You did it,” he mumbled through kisses. “I knew you were going to do it.”

Unable to control themselves, their kisses increased, heating up wildly until his kisses seared through her, worshipping each inch of her skin. She was breathing hard as he peeled her out of her dress and pushed her onto the bed and continued to whisper adorations and plans of their future. How proud of her he was, and how he was never going to let her forget it. She shivered as he let his mouth skimmed against her, and she promised in that moment to never take him or his love for granted. This is why she didn’t need handwritten wedding vows — because they vowed to each other all the time with a simple kiss. And more than kisses. They brought each other to orgasm again and again, until they were both sweaty and spent and shaking with pleasure. They both poured every ounce of joy and relief into their intertwining bodies, finding their own perfect rhythm, until long after they should have gone to sleep. But neither wanted this magical day to end.

He was twirling the ring around her finger when Aelin remembered that she hadn’t taken a picture of it yet. She reached for her phone and started at a text from her dad, which just said: Checking in.

“Oh my god,” Aelin said again, bolting upright.

But Rowan just chuckled sleepily, reaching out with one of his hands to squeeze her bare backside. “Yeah, baby. Oh my god. You’re incredible.”

“NO, ROWAN,” she said smacking his shoulder. “What were we thinking? We got married! And then left home without telling anyone?” She actually couldn’t believe she had done that. What was she supposed to write back to her dad? “Rhoe is going to KILL ME,” she said, finally realizing what had occurred over the last twelve hours. “No, wait. He’s going to kill YOU! He’s going to arrest you for kidnapping his only daughter!”

At that Rowan really did laugh and pulled her back down into his embrace. “Ace, are you serious?” his laughter poured over her, silky smooth. “You think I would marry you and take you out of state without explicitly asking your father for permission and telling him our plans?”

Aelin’s eyes widened as she looked at Rowan with serious eyes. “He knew?”

Rowan kissed her shoulder and mumbled a soft, “Go to sleep. I’ll tell you everything in the morning.”

She paused. “You made a plan, but didn’t think to pack a bag for me?”

He chuckled again, pulling her tighter against his side. “I did pack a bag for you,” he said. ”I just forgot toothpaste and a nightshirt,” he said, his lips loosening as sleep threatened to take him over. “You didn’t need it, though.” And with that, he was asleep.

“I love you, too,” she replied, pushing his hair from his eyes and loving the way he smiled at her touch, even asleep. Unable to help herself, she laced her fingers through his and snapped a quick pic of their intertwined hands before sending it off to her dad. As she rested the phone down and closed her eyes, she felt ready for the next chapter. Except, it wasn’t really a chapter, she guessed. It was the rest of her life. A new book she was writing. She didn’t know what it would entail, but she knew that she couldn’t wait.

THE END

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nerdperson524 · 11 months ago

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I Don't Want To Wait, seventy-three

rowaelin high school bff au masterlist

AN: Alright, folks, we're in the very final stretch. Second to last chapter here. The final chapter will post next week, and I will have a much sappier note for you all then about what the last four years of this fic have meant to me. But for now... here you go.

“Are you really not going to tell me?” Aelin whined, looking up from her practice exam. As he had for the last several hours, Dorian shook his head of dark curls and glared back. His usually warm blue eyes held a bit of chill to them, but that didn’t dissuade Aelin. If anything, it made her persist harder. “Pleaaaaseeee, Doriannnn,” she continued. “Pleaseeee?”

With a deep, frustrated sigh, he aggressively turned the page to the thick packet of paper on the table in front of him. “I’m really not,” he said, yet again.

“What if I guessed?” Aelin probed. “Would you give me a signal if I said the right name?”

He silently began scribbling his answer, back to studiously ignoring the blonde seated across from him. “You’re infuriating,” he mumbled to himself.

“What about a gender?” she asked. “Or pronouns?” she continued. “He? She? They? Zim? Zer? Zie?”

Dorian slammed his pencil down and frustratedly gripped the bridge of his nose, crinkling it, as if in dire pain.

“I’m not ready to talk about it,” he said. Aelin tried to counter, but he cut her off with a startling admission.

“I am possibly gearing up to invite… this… undisclosed gendered person… to prom—” Aelin gasped, causing Dorian to roll his eyes. “—so, I don’t want to talk about it, because I don’t want to talk myself out of doing it. If that’s alright with her majestyyyy.”

She couldn’t help but bite her lip and nod, seeing the nerves Dorian had been studiously pushing down bubble up and over in his explanation.

“Fine,” she conceded, causing him to sigh a breath of relief. But Aelin couldn’t resist getting in one more piece of information while he was still feeling like disclosing.

Aelin’s grin split across her face as she whispered, “It’s Chaol, isn’t it?”

“Oh my GOD,” Dorian exploded. “You said you were going to let it go! I swear, if I get a one on this AP exam because you wouldn’t shut up about this…”

“Fine, fine,” Aelin said, zipping her still-grinning lips shut.

But she hadn’t failed to notice the way the back of Dorian’s neck stiffened slightly at the C-word. She was even more curious now. She’d had a sneaking suspicion that whatever tension had arisen between the pair during spring break would come to a head, but she really wanted to know how that resulted in them in a bedroom at Lorcan’s together the previous night. And how did they end up like that before Dorian had asked him to prom??? All she knew was that as soon as Chaol said yes to his prom date — because he would, no doubt say yes — she’d be teasing Dory about it for the foreseeable future. Without letting her curious mind wander futher, she resumed her genome diagram, finally putting the topic to rest.

. . .

Aelin wasn’t sure she was going to make it through this week. While her friends were partaking in senior pranks, skips, and general tomfoolery, she was stuck inside the gymnasium for hours at a time, completing her many AP exams. The air was sticky with humidity, and it somehow at its worst during test time. Sun poured through the gym windows, heating the room and steaming every student attempting to complete their already-difficult tests. Even the industrial-sized fans placed in each corner of the room were barely enough to give them relief, simply pushing around the heated air in warm wafts. It was honestly miserable.

Not only that, but between the actual exams and the studying for those exams, she had hours upon hours of nightly dance rehearsals. The showcase would be that weekend, and it seemed like Petrah was running them into the ground, attempting to perfect each piece of choreography. And though Aelin loved to dance — she really did, and she was grateful that she’d reentered the world — but she couldn’t help but think this might be the worst hell week she’d ever had. It was hell in the truest sense of the word. She’d lost track of the days, each one blending together into one giant cloud of stress. T

She wouldn’t have been able to do it without Rowan (and Maeve, to be honest), who had prepared and delivered her a week worth of dinner and snacks. He’d shown up on Sunday night with three bags worth of takeout containers (all labeled) and organized them into the fridge while she took a practice AP Lit exam. Honestly, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to remember to feed herself if he hadn’t, and she was infitinely grateful for their forethought. Yeah, sure, her dad wouldn’t have let her starve, but the end of the school year was always the fire department’s busiest time of year — having to deal with some senior shenanigans. Earlier in the week he’d had to remove a canoe filled with flaming shit (yes, literal bags on fire!) from Orynth High’s field — so, he’d been a bit sparse around the house. Which, wasn’t exactly bad. Aelin was grateful for the silence when she needed to study, but she was an extrovert by nature and her lack of human contact was definitely taking its toll on her. She was fully exhausted, but she could really use a night of socializing or fraternizing with her boyfriend at the very least.

Alas, Rowan was also MIA. She knew he felt like garbage about how little he was seeing her, but he was beholden to an insane practice schedule with his lacrosse championship game approaching. The pair of them were nothing more than passing ships in the night, barely seeing each other for more than a small kiss good morning before parting ways for the day. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she had a real conversation with him that wasn’t over text.

Fully exhausted, she shook a small container of Caesar dressing into the labeled salad Tupperware, forcing herself to nourish herself before collapsing into bed. She had merely one day left of this torturous week, and then she’d be able to take a deep breath. Maybe.

“You look kinda wrecked, babe,” Lorcan said, grabbing a beer from the back of the Galathynius’s fridge.

“Gee, thanks,” she laughed, elbowing him in the side.

“I’m serious. You need a vacay,” he said, his face uncharacteristically without any humor. “No, not need. Deserve,” he clarified. “What are your summer plans?”

Aelin didn’t have an answer.

She wracked her brain, thinking of all the time she’d spent thinking about the future and the upcoming months and realized that she’d completely skipped over this summer in her planning. Her future had always started in August when college terms began. She had forgotten to consider how she’d fill the three months of post-graduation time. She assumed based on whatever financial aid package she received that she’d need to take a job, but with her life still so thoroughly in limbo, a plan had never really solidified. Like the rest of her future, it was a hazy cloud. A blank slate. A chasm of nothingness.

“I… don’t know,” she finally replied.

“Well, do you mind if I make a suggestion?” Lorcan laughed.

She finished shaking her salad container and wordlessly followed him over to the couch where he’d already queued up the latest episode of Real Housewives. He patted the cushion next to him, and she collapsed with little hesitation, leaning into his thick shoulder for support. Lorcan was freshly showered and smelled strongly of Ivory soap. It’s how her dad usually smelled, too. It had taken her a while to get used to, but she realized it was the soap they had at the station. No matter what other shampoo they used, the soapy smell always pervaded her nostrils. It was strangely comforting.

“I think you need to chill the fuck out,” he continued, oblivious to her sentimentality. “I don’t know what that means, but… I think you’ve gotta do something that requires absolutely zero brain power. Maybe that’s lifeguarding or teaching dance to toddlers. Maybe it’s going on a cross-country road trip to try and find the best slice of chocolate cake. Maybe you want to take up a new hobby like gardening or join a karaoke league, I don’t fucking know. But you need to turn your brain off, babe. Let it take a three month breather. You’ll need it before going to college.”

“But I don’t even know if I’m going to college,” Aelin replied. She straightened up away from Lorcan and leaned over to grab a bite of her salad, trying to tune out her self-pity as she stuffed a wad of romaine lettuce into her mouth.

Lorcan simply laughed. “I’ll be the first to tell anyone who listens that college isn’t for everyone. It was never going to be my path, that’s for sure.” Aelin nodded, chewing thoughtfully as she listened. “But, you love to learn. I’ve never seen someone go through books for fun like you. Hell, I don’t think there’s a book in your room you haven’t read more than once. You love to debate and question your own beliefs and opinions, and that’s super cool. But also, it means you are pretty much bred for college life.” He paused and rubbed at his day clean-shaven chin, his eyes warming affectionately at her. “Everything is going to work out exactly the way it was meant to be.”

“That feels far too sentimental and optimistic coming from you,” Aelin eyed him skeptically.

“What can I say?” Lorcan said, stretching his arm across the back seat of their couch. “I’ve changed. Life is good.” His smile widened. “So, what’s the age makeup of your dance company like? Any of-age hotties you can intro me to after the show? Think Petrah would go for a younger daddy type or is she committed to a Rhoe-ish age gap?”

Aelin faux-gagged and pressed play on the TV, happy to ignore Lorcan’s button-pushing. But as the Housewives got into their usual drama, she found herself barely paying attention. Instead, she was imagining all the scenarios she could fill her summer with. And all of them involved being half-naked with Rowan. No matter what this fall brought, Lorcan was right; she needed a serious brain break.

. . .

Aelin breathed the deepest sigh of relief upon finishing her AP Lit exam. She had used the full allotted exam time, not finishing even a second early to go back and revise any of her words, filling the pages with her messy scrawl, analyzing theme after theme and character after character until she thought her hand was going to fall right off. She lifted the back of her shirt, which was drenched with sweat and tried to fan herself, but it was no use. She’d need a cold shower or maybe an ice bath ro reverse the heat stroke this stupid gymnasium had wreaked upon her body. And she couldn’t be more grateful to be finished with it.

Oh my god. She was finished. With exams. And classes. High school was nearly over.

“Congrats, graduate,” a familiar voice called out as Aelin the gym, causing her lips and toes to both curl. She was prepared to fall into his arms, but Rowan’s hands were outstretched, offering up a sprinkle-laden cupcake for her.

“We still have one more week,” she said as she bit into the cupcake. The sugar was exactly what she needed to perk back up after her insane week; she could feel it working its sugary magic with every chew.

But Rowan wasn’t deterred. He nuzzled his nose into her hair, inhaling her scent and leaning against her shoulder.

“Your exams are over, what else even is there to do?”

Aelin laughed. “Um, well, you have your game and I have my performance. Then I guess there’s just… prom and graduation,” she contined. “Oh, and the small factor of trying to get off Wendlyn’s waitlist.” She glared up at his roguish smile. “Nothing major.”

“I miss you,” he said quietly, and Aelin simply hummed her agreement in return. “Do you have rehearsal tonight?”

Aelin nodded as she took another bite of her cupcake. “Yeah,” she glanced at her phone. “But not for three hours.”

Rowan grinned. “Coach gave us the night off to rest before tomorrow.” His eyes darted around as he pulled her closer. “Wanna do something crazy?”

A pang of lust overtook Aelin as she realized how long it’d been since she’d been truly alone with Rowan. Over a week. She crossed her legs and pressed into him further as arousal coursed through her body.

“Absolutely,” she replied, causing his smile to widen even further and letting him pull her to the jeep with pretty much no hesitation. She was practically vibrating with an overload of hormones when Rowan missed the turn to their secret empty parking lot.

“Uhhh, Ro?” she asked, “You missed our turn.”

“No I didn’t,” he responded, brow furrowed in confusion. “I haven’t even told you what we’re going to do.”

Then it was Aelin’s turn for her brow to furrow. “Huh? I thought we were going to… you know.”

“OH!” Rowan’s cheeks reddened as he looked at his squirming girlfriend. “Uh, we can do that after, if there’s enough time.” He cleared his throat as he drove further down the main drag of Orynth.

“Well, if we’re not going to do that, then what the hell are we going to do?” Aelin asked, brimming with frustration.

His hands grasped the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles turning white with effort. He clearly wanted to surprise her. It wasn’t until they pulled into the City Hall parking lot that she finally put the pieces together.

“Wanna get a marriage license?” he asked.

He barely had time to gnaw at the skin of his lip with doubtful nerves before Aelin threw her arms around him and scampered out of the car. It was the first step to their forever. She’d forgotten they needed to make time for it with all that she’d been going through this week, but he hadn’t. And she was grateful.

Orynth’s City Hall was one of the oldest buildings in town, and entering it felt like being a part of history. Its ceilings were high and arched into a unique pattern of arches that crisscrossed overhead, and the green marble floors were tiled and grouted with gold, making each one stand out like a gilded diamond in the late afternoon sun. The marble shined so brilliantly that Aelin took care to walk especially quietly, assuming each step would echo loudly throughout the cavernous building, but her sneaker barely made a sound. In fact, the whole place seemed oddly hushed, as if it was holding its breath with anticipation. It contrasted heavily with Aelin’s racing heart, which thudding loudly in her chest as Rowan reached for her hand and pulled her toward the section of the room that was labeled “MARRIAGE OFFICE.”

The line to the marriage office was unshockingly non-existent on a Friday afternoon in their small town, and after showing their IDs and signing a piece of paper, Rowan and Aelin were quickly the proud owners of an official marriage license. It was over so quickly and unceremoniously that she wasn’t sure it really happened. But as she stared at the paper in her hands, she knew it was real. In five days, they could come back and get fully, a hundred percent married.

Before tucking herself into bed that night, she glanced at the white dress she’d placed in the back of her closet. She’d be able to wear it in five days.

But there was another dress she had to wear first.

. . .

“Everybody scootch together!” Maeve shouted, waving her camera in the air, trying to corral the couples in front of her. The humid weather was making the girls’ hair stick to their foreheads and curl where it wasn’t supposed to be curling, and all they wanted to do was hop into the limo they’d rented and make their way to prom, but Maeve insisted on a full out photo shoot. Apparently she’d gotten barely any photos of her prom night and she was making it all of their problems.

“Now one silly one!” she directed, causing everyone to groan. But her stern glare was enough to get them to all jump back into action and make their most ridiculous faces. Aelin stuck out her tongue and scrunched her eyes shut, causing Rowan to laugh beside her. He looked so incredibly handsome in his fully black suit. His green eyes popped and glinted in the golden rays of the setting sun, making him utterly irresistible. She wanted to fast forward to the end of the evening and peel him out of it, piece by piece, but that was hours away. If Rowan’s hands were any indication, he felt similarly. Her black dress had a low back with a twisting gold design up the back, subtly resembling a dragon, and he couldn’t stop touching her exposed skin. She shivered as his knuckle brushed against the low divot of her spine, and she looked up at him with absolutely no filter to her more lascivious thoughts.

“Keep it in your pants, babe,” Lorcan shouted from beside Maeve. She simply flicked him off.

“Classy,” Rhoe grumbled. “Keep that one for the grandkids.”

“Okay, now one sweet one. Look at your partner, tell them how good they look…… smile, Rowan!” she sang out, causing the lines of his frown to deepen further.

“Aunt Maeveee,” Rowan finally said with a long sigh. “We’re going to be late if we don’t leave soon.”

“Rowan Eugene Whitethorn,” Maeve chastised, “This is the only prom you and Aelin have attended together, and I will get at least as many photos as you took with Lyria two years ago, is that okay with you?”

Rowan’s jaw snapped shut at his aunt’s words, nodding in apology and hugging Aelin’s waist tighter at the mention of his last prom date.

“That was junior prom,” he grumbled. “It’s not even remotely the same thing,” he continued. “And she wasn’t even there. How does she know how many pictures we took?”

Aelin snorted loudly. “She tagged you in every single one on Facebook.” She laughed at Rowan’s raised eyebrow. “We allllll saw them,” she drawled, pursing her red lips at him. She laughed as he shook his head in disgust.

“So weird,” Rowan mumbled, mostly to himself.

“SMILE,” Maeve shouted, clearly annoyed that Rowan and Aelin were talking and not posing for her needs. They paused their convo to smile at each other with hearts in their eyes, and Aelin couldn’t resist lifting her heels even higher to press her lips to Rowan’s cheek.

“OH!” Maeve gasped. “Adorable. Let’s all do cheek kisses.”

“Can we not?” Dorian groaned from where his arms were wrapped around Chaol’s waist. Yes, that’s right, Aelin had been correct in her assumption that the pair of best friends had worked through whatever issues had plagued them and come out the other side. Aelin didn’t want to parade her rightness in Dorian’s face, but she had told him “I told you so” at least once of the best friends’ graduation from ~it’s complicated~ to prom dates. Prom dates who kissed each others’ cheeks. Chaol ignored Dorian’s complaining and laid his lips directly on his friend’s scruff, causing a soft rosy blush to appear on the tips of Dorian’s ears. Aelin thought back to two years ago when she had kissed Chaol in his car and couldn’t help but smile. All along the pair of them were meant to be with their own best friends. Who would have known?

Chaol’s midnight suit glimmered in the setting sun, making Dorian’s eyes shine even more blue, somehow. And though he protested initially, he leaned into his friend’s lips, looking at ease for the first time in weeks.

On Aelin’s other side, Elide and Manon were circling each other in bright swaths of color. Manon looked ferocious in a teal jumpsuit that was a few shades darker than her bright turquoise hair. Its neckline plunged between her cleavage, showing off her pale skin and a sleeve of fresh floral ink, winding around her biceps and forearm. It was the perfect compliment to Elide’s fairy light green tulle dress, which floated around them in glittering layers.

Behind them, Lysandra had surprised them all by showing up with her own date. The way they’d been during spring break, she’d half expected it to be Aedion, but she’d shown up with another sober friend from her AA group. A really nice guy named Harding. He’d apparently known Wesley, and instead of being a deterrent, it had strangely bonded Lys with him.

“Now kiss!” Maeve shouted, and Lysandra whipped her dark hair in Maeve’s direction and scowled.

“Some of us aren’t like that!” she said.

Rowan finally left the group and went over to Maeve and pushed her camera down. “I think you’ve got enough,” he said, and she nodded, letting them all disperse and make their way into the waiting limo.

Aelin had created a playlist and plugged it into the backseat. “Who’s ready to see some prom queens?” she asked, letting her friends cheer as Manon and Elide kissed each other thoroughly as the music blared overhead. For the first time in a long time, Aelin felt relaxed. She felt like … this was a seminal teen moment that she would remember for the rest of her life, and she was secretly glad that Maeve wanted to capture as much of it as she did. She knew that many years from now, she would go through the photos with the same warmth in her heart that was taking up space there right now.

. . .

As the hours passed, Aelin became even more grateful for Maeve’s forced documentation. Despite camera phones capturing video and photos galore, the night was passing by too quickly. And despite the pain that Aelin had felt in her years walking the halls of Orynth High and the question marks that awaited her on the other side, tonight was perfect.

The dance had a ridiculously cheesy theme that no one actually adhered to: Enchanted Forest. But the décor had completely transformed the stuffy gym that Aelin had hated so thoroughly the previously week. Twinkle lights twined through the lush greenery that lined the walls, and a glowing path of low mushrooms and lanterns lit the way to a photobooth that was covered in a romantic arch of branches. Overhead, they’d released a sea of green and gold balloons that covered the ceiling, but they floated around, transporting them all to a different world. It was silly, but it felt like magic. Aelin never wanted to leave this place.

Her fingers grasped Rowan’s neck tighter as a slow song came on, and she breathed his pine scent in deeply as he leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. His lips ghosted hers, not fully kissing her, but not not kissing her either. Her entire body was alight with an amorous flame that hadn’t been quenched in days. His hand ran up her bare back, and it took all her restraint not to moan out loud. Instead, she sighed into his mouth.

“I love you,” she whispered, their breaths mingling at how close they were to each other.

“Gods, I love you,” he replied.

He kissed her then, deeply, soundly, not caring that camera flashes went off around them. He broke their kiss, panting slightly, and she couldn’t resist patting down the lapels of his suit and smoothing them beneath her palm. Reminding her that this was real. That he was hers.

“This is everything I’ve ever wanted,” he finally said, breaking her from her spell.

“Is it?” she asked, and though it was a leading question, she did actually want to know the answer.

As it had been mentioned earlier in the evening, Rowan had been to prom before, and he hadn’t really enjoyed it. In fact, he’d left pretty damn early. It hadn’t been a secret that Rowan didn’t enjoy school dances. Or school events. Or events of any kind, really. And she didn’t blame him for that. But she hadn’t expected him to love this night the way that she was loving it. Strangely, he sounded sincere, though.

A wry grin turned up half of his smile in a new roguish grin he’d been trying out that made him oh so appealing in ways that Aelin couldn’t even begin to articulate.

“Yeah, Ace,” he laughed softly. “It is.”

She knew she was fishing but she couldn’t help herself. “Why?” she asked, and though she thought he’d admonish her, his grin disappeared and his face turned as serious as ever as he gathered his thoughts.

“Because.” He cleared his throat and gave her an apologetic smile. “This was the way it should have always been,” he said. “When I came to prom with Lyria…” he drifted off and his eyes lost focus, as if remembering back to those days. They seemed so far away now. “I kept thinking how annoyed I was that I was there, and it wasn’t because I didn’t like school dances. Although… I don’t love those,” he chuckled lightly. “It’s because I wasn’t with you. Lyria barely cared that I was there. She just wanted me as a prop for her photos. And I was so mad at myself for not saying no, because the idea of going to prom with you had always been in the back of my head.” He kissed her cheek. “I wanted it to be you then because I’ve wanted it to be you forever. And yeah… it’s stupid, but… I’m glad I get to have this with you. Finally.”

Aelin’s throat tightened at his words, because she remembered how fucking miserable she’d been that night. She wouldn’t rub it in now. She wouldn’t tell him how she spent the night pained and alone on the rooftop, angsting about every moment that he’d spent with his arms wrapped around Lyria, but she was glad he’d felt it, too. Because it was always better when it was them.

She was seconds away from begging him to take her home and make her remember how good they were together when Principal Havillard tapped at his microphone.

“It’s that time of the evening, folks,” he said, clearing his throat and looking out into the crowd. “Voting for Prom King and Queen has been going on for the last four weeks, and as of yesterday, our panel of math teachers has finished calculating the results.” He paused again, looking slightly uncomfortable. “The results have been double and triple checked, and all that’s left to do is announce them…” The principal was noticeable uncomfortable as he reached for the envelope in his pocket, ripping it open and preparing to read the words that Aelin knew would be there. She and Dorian had calculated the polls multiple times. There was no way there was going to be any other result.

“Your Prom King and Queen are Manon Blackbeak and Elide Lochan,” he announced to an overwhelming, raucous applause.

Aelin and Rowan were among them, shouting at the top of their lungs as the spotlight found their friends on the dance floor and led them up to the stage, hand in hand. To principal Havillard’s credit, he did not react at all as he pulled the crowns from the teachers behind him, who held up plush red pillows donned with their headwear.

Manon pulled the thick gold crown onto her own head before placing the more delicate tiara onto Elide’s dark curls. The pair stared at each other, smiling widely, before Elide pulled Manon into a kiss. As the cheers echoed through the gym, Manon dipped Elide low, never breaking the kiss, though Aelin spotted the corners of a smile peeking through.

“PROM QUEENS!” one student shouted. “PROM QUEENS!” A chant rippled through the gym, reaching an apex as the pair finished their kiss and headed down to the dance floor for their first dance. It was supposed to be something slow and romantic, but Aelin already knew that Dorian had switched it out. He’d called in a favor with his friends in the drama department, and Aelin couldn’t help the wave of joy that washed over her as ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” began to play overhead.

She didn’t wait for Rowan’s approval before dragging him into the center of the dance floor with her friends, who were circling Manon and Elide and shouting the lyrics of the song at them. The pair buried their chins into each other’s shoulders, smiling harder than Aelin had ever seen them. Joy. Pure joy. That’s what this moment was. She could see Archer shrinking to the side of the gym out of the corner of her eye, but she barely gave the asshole a second of her thought before shimmying closer to her friends.

This moment was everything.

“Young and sweeeeeet,” Aelin shouted as loud as she could, twirling out into her group of her friends. “Only seventeeeen,” she said with an overexaggerated point to Elide and Manon, who were swaying and wrapped in each other’s arms.

“Dancing queen, feel the beat from the tambourine!” Dorian shouted as loud as he could, and Aelin laughed as Chaol disco’ed in a circle around him, pretending to play an air tambourine.

“OH YEAHHHHH!” Rowan interjected, causing Aelin’s brows to rise in surprise.

“What?” he shrugged. “Everyone knows the words to this one,” he said, and Aelin couldn’t help but release a loud peal of laughter.

In that moment, it didn’t matter that Aelin didn’t know she was going. Yes, they would all be headed their own ways soon, but it didn’t matter where they were all going. This moment was perfect. And they’d always have this. They’d look back on this moment as one of their best, with a nostalgic fondness that can’t ever really be recreated.

Aelin ushered them all closer until they were all huddled together with their arms around Manon and Elide. She barely noticed the nods of appreciation from the girlfriends, totally distracted by Rowan’s voice and the supportive arm at the crux of her back. They danced the night away, until it was way past when she thought they’d leave. Song after song, they stayed on the dance floor, letting their bodies sway and jump and twist and twirl. Exhilaration filled their circle, never dying down or even coming to a brief lull that would let them take off.

She’d anticipated there being a good moment of downtime for her and Rowan to make their escape, to peel off and go partake in the second half of the evening on Maeve’s rooftop. But even as the night wore on and the dance floor started to become more sparse, she felt herself unable to leave.

“You ready to go?” she finally asked Rowan, but he shook his head. “NO?!” she asked, bewildered.

“No,” he laughed. He grabbed her hand and her feet tumbled toward him as he pulled her against his chest. She looked up at his grinning face and felt a mirror image on her own. If someone had told her two years ago that she’d be in Rowan’s arms, dancing for hours at prom together, she probably would have burst into tears — because that person would surely have been mocking her. At that moment, Rowan’s hand squeezed her hip, pulling it against his in a brief gesture of comfort, as if to reassure her that yes, this was real. And she couldn’t imagine it being any other way.

It wasn’t until the music stopped and the lights abruptly turned on that Aelin even realized they were the last ones standing. She and her friends had effectively shut down prom, completely unaware of their classmates’ departure. Under the bright fluorescent light, the enchanted forest décor had lost a bit of its luster, simply looking like fake props and cheesy party décor.

“Gods, I’m starving,” Elide breathed as she wiped a stream of sweat from her brow.

“Me too,” Manon replied as she dug her teeth into Elide’s bare shoulder. The brunette squealed loudly as the bite turned to soft kisses.

“Burgers at Maeve’s?” Rowan suggested, and Aelin’s chest warmed as he was met with enthusiastic cheers. Clearly no one wanted this night to end. How could they? It was perfect.

As they tumbled out from the sticky gym into the cool night air, Aelin looked up into the star studded sky and took a deep breath. Next week… well, next week was graduation. In a few days, they’d all be going their separate ways. But for now, she couldn’t care about that. Instead, she followed Lysandra’s lead and kicked off her heels. Her toes thanked her as they stretched out, and she groaned in pleasure with their first step onto the high school’s turf, which was cold and damp beneath her feet. Shoes in one hand and Rowan in the other, she joined in the conversation of how shocked Archer looked to lose as prom king.

“I’m pretty sure he demanded a recount,” Chaol said with a low snort. “I heard your dad reassure him at least twice that the ballots had been counted accurately.”

Dorian cackled wickedly. “I also counted the ballots. And, uh, yeah. He lost. By a landslide.”

“TO A GIRL!” Manon shouted, tipping her crown to all of them and causing them to cheer raucously again.

Their voices echoed over the wide expanse of turf, and for a minute, Aelin let herself feel grounded and at peace. She was hyper focused on the way Chaol’s face lit up as Dorian hopped onto his back, on Lysandra’s easy grin as she skipped through the grass, on Manon’s proud puffed-out chest as she pushed a messy curl behind the side of Elide’s tiara, and on the steady swipe of Rowan’s thumb against her back. She’d breathe it in and exhale it out, and let this overwhelming sense of rightness soothe her. No, right now she wouldn’t think about what their next chapter would bring. She’d live in this moment for as long as she could.

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